“Nature's Wonders of Oceans
and Mountains” is a British children's book by John Gilbert. Apart from the
wildlife of oceans and mountain ranges, it also covers rivers, lakes and
marshes. The Andes, the Alps and the Himalayas are some of the areas covered,
alongside the Rockies, the Everglades and the rivers of temperate North
America. Additional sections deal with deep sea fish and island endemics. There
is even a chapter on perfectly regular European lakes, featuring mallards,
swans and dragonflies.
Despite the colourful pictures and relatively easy accompanying text, I didn't like the book as a kid. A number of errors had crept into the Swedish translation (at least I hope it's just in the translation!). The author, editor or translator confuses the Osprey and the Lammergeier, and seems to think that all North American brown bears are grizzlies. One picture shows black bears, but the caption claims they are brown bears! The innocent children are also taught that the shark is the “terror of the seas” and that the moray eel is a “cruel, carnivorous fish”. Cruel? Compared to what exactly? British fox-hunting? LOL.
Gilbert's book is probably part of a series also covering other biotas, but if so, I haven't seen any other volumes…
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